Inspired | Broad College of Business 2022 Annual Report

INSPIRED | 2022 ANNUAL REPORT

opportunity to try to make their idea a reality,” said Paul Jaques , managing director of Venture Creation at the Burgess Institute. “Because our program stretches across campus, everyone can have a seat at the table, and we offer them the space and resources to go after their ambitions.” SUPPORTING THROUGH REPRESENTATION Over the last year, the Burgess Institute has taken steps to help represent and include students of all identities. “We want to make sure that our students see themselves reflected through leaders and mentors,” Melfi Bozzo said. “At Burgess, we are working to actively create an inclusive environment. We want to make sure that students see people of color in entrepreneurship and people challenging the status quo, and that they learn from that.” The Burgess Institute worked on scaling its Entrepreneur-In- Residence (EIR) program, an opportunity where industry-expert alumni volunteer to share one-on-one mentorship with students. These alumni represent a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. This places students in direct contact with alumni to build relationships and to work with industry experts who have walked the walk across a number of industries. The program more than tripled over the last year, expanding from four EIRs in 2020 to 13 in 2021. RANKING AMONG THE BEST Last year, for the fourth consecutive year, MSU ranked within the Princeton Review ’s top 25 undergraduate entrepreneurship programs nationwide . On top of that, since 2017, students have raised a total of $57.9 million in funding to help their businesses grow and succeed through university-affiliated initiatives.

BROAD SPARTAN OLIVIA GARGETT AND HER VENTURE, OG’S BAKERY, WON THE 2022 BURGESS NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE.

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I’ve come to appreciate that there’s room for creativity and innovation in all fields and from people in all disciplines.

AN ENTREPRENEURIAL STATE OF MIND ///////////////////////////////// How the Broad College and the Burgess Institute are inspiring future business leaders through resources and representation

Jerome Behar | B.A. Accounting ’79

Behar, founder and managing director of Nissim Capital and co-founder and chair of Grand River Solutions, was the Broad College’s commencement speaker in spring 2022 .

our MSU Entrepreneurship Association trip to California and our Women in Entrepreneurship group to North Carolina. These face-to-face events strengthen our relationships with partners and alumni and get our students thinking big.” EXPANDING FOR THE FUTURE The Burgess Institute is currently in the process of launching its Venture Kitchen, a commercial-grade kitchen for students to test food product or cosmetic ideas. The Burgess Institute raised $12,000 for the initiative through a Give Green Day campaign. There are also exciting venture creation developments on the horizon. “We are proud to have launched a new Venture Creation Discovery and Launch program along with a new website, which will help students navigate our program in a better way,” Szymusiak said. “We will also be introducing our first cohort of 14 Schaberg Scholars, in partnership with the Residential Business Community . These scholars will receive $10,000 in grant funding and will complete the minor in entrepreneurship along with the Venture Creation program.” Across all programs, the entrepreneurial mindset inspires students to explore the intersections of disciplines across campus and — regardless of their industry — to take the plunge. “All we ask is that those with business ideas take the risk. That’s what the entrepreneurial mindset is all about,” Melfi Bozzo said. “Yes, you may fail. But you have to be willing to learn from that failure. You have to run, and keep running.”

The entrepreneurial mindset is known for its lack of limitation. There is no single type of person, industry or background that defines an entrepreneur; on the contrary, entrepreneurial innovation exists at the intersection of many different ideas and identities. It is this intersection that MSU strives to embrace. Ken Szymusiak , managing director of academic programs at the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation , traces MSU’s inclination to take the path less traveled back to the university’s roots. “I think that MSU’s success in entrepreneurship education goes back to our land-grant mission,” Szymusiak explained. “At MSU, entrepreneurship is in our blood, and that mindset carries on today.” For Desireé Melfi Bozzo , director of Student Success & Advising at the Burgess Institute, this way of thinking exists across departments at MSU.

a custom cake pop company from Broad sophomore Olivia Gargett. “Students work tirelessly for about eight weeks to get their business plans into proper form,” said Szymusiak. “We help them get their pitch down, identify potential challenges, and pivot to address them.” True to the nature of the Burgess Institute and entrepreneurship in general, pitches spanned across disciplines. For example, Branching Out — the second-place prize winner from College of Agriculture & Natural Resources student Avery Tilley — supplies fully customizable, grafted fruit trees that customers can grow right in their own living rooms. College of Engineering student Shreesha Maddur’s company, Tally Jobs, took third place. His concept offers a job board website with a unique matchmaking algorithm. “We believe that every discipline is related to entrepreneurship and that every student should have the

“We believe in teaching the entrepreneurial mindset to all students, regardless of their future plans,” Melfi Bozzo said. “Some of these students will move on to start their own companies, which will be the places that they work for the rest of their lives. But others will take what they have learned and put it toward obtaining a different type of fulfilling job, using that skillset to excel in their careers. The principles of entrepreneurship are everywhere.” CONTINUING THE BURGESS NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE In April 2022, the Burgess Institute hosted the fourth annual Burgess New Venture Challenge , an early-stage pitch competition for MSU student entrepreneurs and business leaders. More than 40 teams applied to the challenge , with 15 finalists going on to pitch their ideas to a panel and compete for $40,000 in scholarship prizes. This year, the top prize went to OG’s Bakery ,

top 25 UNDERGRADUATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM NATIONWIDE Source: The Princeton Review

“What sets us apart is our programs’ depth and breadth, our relationships with alumni and the ecosystem that we’ve built,” said Aaryn Richard , director of marketing and communications at the Burgess Institute. “Our work is interconnected with the local community, as well as with alumni around the world. Entrepreneurship at MSU is a college-wide apparatus.” “Another thing MSU brings to the table is learning opportunities beyond the classroom,” Jaques added. “Last year, we were able to branch out through some innovative travel experiences. We took a group of students to the SXSW event in Austin, Texas, along with

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